By the Numbers: Producer Price Index

The Producer Price Index for finished goods dropped 0.2 percent in December, continuing the decline that started in October after 4 months of increase from June to September. Although the PPI for finished food goods dropped 0.9 percent and finished energy goods dropped 0.3 percent, core goods — those excluding food and energy — actually rose 0.1 percent, reducing the total decrease to 0.2 percent.

The negative movement in the PPI for the last 3 months has not been enough to reverse the year-on-year upward movement. December 2011 showed figures not too dissimilar to Decemeber 2012’s, but December 2011 had a 4.7 percent year-on-year increase in PPI for finished goods. That increase is further compounded by December 2012’s year-on-year increase of 1.3 percent. For the past twelve months, all monthly measures of the PPI for finished goods have seen increases compared to 12 months before…

The PPI for crude food goods fell more than either intermediate or finished food goods, with a 1.1 percent decrease from the previous month. However, crude energy goods rose more than any of the others, with a 7.2 percent increase. Crude core goods also rose 1.1 percent in December. The year-on-year change was an increase of 1.6 percent on top of December 2011’s year-on-year increase of 6.6 percent for all crude goods.

Other industries

The PPI for trade industries, which measures changes in margins received by wholesalers and retailers, showed a 0.1 percent decrease in the net output of total trade industries. The year-on-year change was actually an increase of 4.0 percent. Transportation and warehousing industries’ PPI rose 0.2 percent in December, giving the area a 2.6 percent increase year-on-year. This increase was largely attributed to the 1.5 percent increase in scheduled passenger air transportation prices. The PPI for traditional service industries dropped 0.3 percent, still leaving December with a 1.3 percent increase year-on-year for the area.